Are children considered an extra guest ? Should they be charged at a lower rate ?

[Deborah8]

Ive had one couple who brought their toddler along and it was all great & they were lovely , But after reading the forums I wondered at what age the cut -off point is for a freebie ?  To accomadate another person , even a small one , does have a bearing on what the host provides & has to tailor make the room & facilities to be child friendly . 

What do other hosts do ,  is it dependant on their age ? it`d seem to  be unreasonable to charge for an infant , but how about a 7 year old with a 15 year old sibling ? 

Its just a query and Id welcome the community view , 

many thanks  

[Maria-Lurdes0]

This is a popular discussion....

I personally charge for ALL guests, whether infant or teenager.  I don't have that many travelers with absolute infants (as in under one year) so I'm a bit more open to discussion about a real infant but then what if it's triplets under 1 year? Slippery slope.  To me, I would charge MORE for toddlers or kids under 6 if I could.   In my opinion, families with guests always result in more wear/tear.  Food is consumed everywhere, cereal bits ground into the carpet, pen and crayon marks everywhere, dirty diapers left in trash bins, kids running and jumping causing neighbors to tear their hair out, banging of strollers around corners chipping off paint, etc etc.   Besides which, kids bathe, use linens, want the apartment warm/cool depending on season, so resources are used.  Even with super attentive parents, kids are out of their normal environment and in a stressed situation.  Parents as well are either in 'holiday mode' and letting kids go wilder then they normally would allow, or letting kids run around more to wear them out so they sleep.   

[Michael29]

I charge for all guests for the same reasons.

[Michele327]

Hi Maria

Children should pay full price plus extra cleaning fee. I can have upto ten adults who basically leave the place clean and tidy. Then you get one couple with three kids, rubbish, spilt drinks on furniture, sweets under couch cushions, finger prints, dity diapers unwrapped in rubbish and even shoved down our septic toilets. Not to metion "Bed Wetting" ruining our $350 mattresses. Then they want to know if you can provide a porta cot at no charge.

I with you no kids under 5 plus full price.

All the best 

Hosts

[Patricia1190]

You are totally correct in your comments. To have children in your house, it would be crazy to give reductions. It would be common sense to charge more than the adult price to pay for the damages. Most of the time the children are great, BUT sadly some parents want there children to be children and simply have no respect for anyone. The parents ask for a full breakfast for the children knowing that nearly all of it is thrown in the bin. All the children normally want is cereals and toast.  We were accepting chidren over 6 years, Sadly  with this airbnb company ,they do not have the right box to tick. It would be quite simple for the i.t guys to put this right. After contacting the customer service, sorry, hope you have a nice day. The answer from me was to ban ALL children

[Piers0]

We are still working this outas we have had a lot of guests with a child. Some book as 3, others book as 2. If the child is in a cot we will offer 50% reduction from the extra person rate (so under 2 ish) -  though I agree with other members that small children creates more work for the changeover. It would be useful to have a pricing function on the listing for this - otherwise that bit has to go in the text where it may be overlooked by guest when they book.

[Joy15]

I charge my extra ten whole dollars per night to everyone, regardless of age. I just had one guy try to book for two people, although he told me he was bringing his wife and child. When I asked him to correct the booking for three he declined the booking.

Prospective guests who ask for discounts and/or special treatment bring up a red flag for me, in most instances. Also, as noted elsewhere, children make more mess. They also use linens and towels like everyone else. They use electricity and water and they make more noise. 

I must sound like one of those 'you kids get off my lawn' people but I really do like children. But this is business.

[Tamer2]

sorry to know there are many guests who make many mess. This discussion could be more fair to fair guests who keeps the house clean and keeps safe  the house´s objects. Why not overcharge only the guests after checkout with proof they were not met  the policies instead overcharge guests  more only  because they have children ? It is unfair consider all guest as bad guests.

[Paige9]

Says someone that hasn't dealt with resolution center enough to know ... you can't depend on it. A cleaning fee is a cleaning fee - extra crums or spills won't get you extra money for the extra cleanup AFTER guests leave. This is coming from a very large host. Charge up front!!!

[Susan957]

my thoughts on that are this.... they use a bed, towels , facilities, you have cost involved in all of those things, they should pay for all guests regardless of age

[Shakeela0]

It’s harder to get money back after proof and is more work. 

[Kent22]

I don't think asking for discounts/special treatment is the guest's intent.  Rather, hotels tend not to charge for kids up to 12 years old and AirBNB is only up to 2 years old for free.  AirBNB allows each host to decide what they charge for 2-12 year olds.  They are just inquiring as to your home's policy to see if it's more in line with hotels.  AirBNB FAQ's advise guests if they don't like that a host charges for 2-12 year old guests (or up to whatever age the host desires) to find a host that doesn't.

[Kathleen164]

Where do I find how to charge for 2-12 year olds?

[Letti0]

@Kathleen164  AirBnB automatically charges for 2-12 year olds, it's the infants they let in free.